.exe
Synopsis As Reese and Shaw race to catch up with Finch, he infiltrates a maximum-security government facility in a desperate mission which could mean the end for not only Samaritan, but for himself and the Machine as well. Origin of the Title .exe is a file extension which is widely used in Microsoft Windows and some other operating systems. Files with type are called executables and these are supposed to execute any program. In this case, title name points to the name of the file, which contains the virus ICE-9.exe. Main Plot Points The events in this episode are in Machine point of view and Samaritan point of view * Person of Interest: Philip Hayes, the alias Greer uses with the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. * Finch flys from California to Fort Meade, where he infiltrates the NSA serverroom. While in the serverroom he uploades the ICE-9 virus, but Samaritan operatives intervenes before he has time to execute the virus. * Reese and Shaw are searching for Finch. They want to prevent him from killing Greer. When they are in DC, following up on Greer's number, they are given the co-ordinates of Fort Meade, and another number. * Reese and Shaw also infiltrates Fort Meade, and the second number is the room number for the NSA evidence lockup. Inside they find a wireless router that they set up. * After the Samaritan operatives have captured Finch, he is shown the control center for Samaritan and is taken to Greer. The two enter a room that seales itself after Finch denies Greer to merge the two ASIs. After the room seales, the air is sucked out of the room. In the meantime the wireless router that Reese and Shaw set up, has gone online and allowed the Machine to communicate with Finch. The Machine sends the code to the room door by flashing the screen on his phone. Finch survives but Greer suffocates. * All the missing person bodies were found in the abandoned tunnel. As a result, one of Samaritan agents was sent to confront Fusco. After realizing that Fusco knows everything, he decided to kill him. Fusco was wearing a bulletproof vest, and overpoweres the shooter after he is shot. * Finch meets up with Reese and Shaw, and they take down more Samaritan operatives. Reese and Shaw leave the building to find a car, but Finch stays behind. He goes to room with Samaritan and activates the virus by using the password "Dashwood". Episode Notes * The simulations the Machine shows to Finch are based on the 1946 Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life. In the film, the main character is convinced he world would be a better place had he not been born. An angel shows him what the world would be, helping him to realize his life did make a difference in the lives of others. In the original script of the pilot, Reese was contemplating suicide when Finch finds him, very much as George Bailey does when Clarence, the guardian angel, finds him. * The ICE-9.exe virus password was Dashwood, the last name of the lead characters in Jane Austen's novel "Sense and Sensibility", the novel Finch give to Grace when they became engaged. * The car that the Machine drove Finch to the airport while he was in San Jose, CA is a Tesla Model S semi-autonomous vehicle. Tesla developed an autopilot feature that allows the vehicle autonomously drive on roads without the driver ever touching the steering wheel. Production Notes Bloopers and Continuity Errors * During the Machine's simulation of Shaw and Henry Peck, it identifies Peck as a CIA employee. In season 1, his affiliation is actually the NSA. Music Trivia * The wireless router that Reese and Shaw finds in the NSA evidence locker belonged to real-life NSA wistleblower, Edward Snowden. Quotes * "Who am I? I'm just like you, Mr. Barnett. A man who sold the world. Only I charged them a dollar." - (Finch) * "I'm sure the Machine has surmised as much already. And it understands that some sacrifices are as unavoidable as they are necessary." - (Finch, to Greer) * "A flood is coming. The great filter. And Samaritan is building us an ark to board, two by two." - (Greer, to Finch) * "Ceding control is not the answer. Because you will never know if Samaritan has any real concern for human life. For all human lives and that is why I will not join you or ever allow our machines to join." - (Finch, to Greer) * "From the very beginning when you crippled your machine, you denied it the same power that you enjoy: autonomy. It's always required your permission because it never had your trust, and you just said it. You wouldn't cede control. That tells Samaritan that only you know the password. For such a brilliant mind, you are a terrible chess player. Which is why you've already lost." (Greer, to Finch) * "Despite your lessons to the machine, the life of a pawn is not worth the same as a queen." - (Greer, to Finch) * "The queen's sacrifice. So be it! Be at peace, Harold. We have created a new world. With our lives and now with our deaths, Samaritan's survival is ensured. As is life's evolution. History will revere us!" - (Greer, to Finch) * "See you and me? We're not alike. We're not alike at all. You're some kind of new breed. The kind that would kill me if I gave you the chance. So the question is, if I let you live, is that the end of me? The end of my family? Or do I have to play by your rules and just make you disappear?" - (Fusco, to Agent LeRoux) Media References 5x12 5x12 5x12